McTyeire Fireside Chat

In this talk Professor Arthur Demarest, Ingram Professor of Anthropology, will describe some of what we know about the ancient Maya civilization and he will then explore the controversy over predictions of our own December doom!

The ancient Maya civilization is one of the most advanced, yet mysterious ancient societies. The temples, palaces, houses and hieroglyphic monuments of its abandoned cities sprawl across the jungles of Central America. Exploration and archaeology can now tell us a great deal about this ancient society and its sudden collapse though many mysteries remain. One of these, the topic of recent films and popular publications, regards alleged Mayan prophecies of the coming of an apocalypse at the end of the Mayan calendar on Dec 21 of this year 2012.